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Are You Using Your Focus Time?

Written by Monikah Ogando on September 1, 2009

stopwatchOne of the most glorified lies of the 21st century is the ability to multitask well in order to get a maximum productivity.

It doesn’t work.

Research shows that, once interrupted, it takes the average human brain anywhere from 5-20 minutes to get back into the flow of whatever task you were engaged in before the interruption. Now imagine that happening 6-7 times a day.

No wonder the day is gone and you wonder where the heck it went!

One of the best ways I know to boost my productivity on workdays is to utilize a countdown timer during my focus time. I define Focus Time as my personal productivity time without any interruptions.  It’s that sacred time of my workday that gives me the freedom to focus on the critical activities that only I can do.

A focus segment for me is 50 minutes in duration.   I turn off my phone, shut down my email and lock my office door to prevent all disruptions.

I set my countdown timer to 50 minutes and then I get busy.

Here are some of the activities I recommend you focus on if you decide to set aside prime time hours for yourself:

  • Strategic planning
  • Batching phone calls in one sitting
  • Contract evaluation
  • Email/web copywriting
  • Critical thinking
  • Mind mapping
  • Curriculum design
  • Audio/Video production

Putting aside 50 uninterrupted minutes a day, five days a week, adds up to about 188 hours a year of pure productivity.  Try it for 3 weeks and you’ll be stunned at how much more productive you become.

If you’re like most entrepreneurs, your stress levels will decrease and your income will increase!

What To Do Now: Click here to get free instant access to my favorite online countdown timer.  Then set aside 5 prime time fifty-minute segments next week.  Report your progress by commenting on this blog post.

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Will you get back up?

Written by Monikah Ogando on August 24, 2009

You may have heard it said times before, “The only problem you have is to think you have problems.” Those inconveniences, obstacles, and challenges that come your way, in life, and in business, can truly be an opportunity to reveal to yourself not only your own character, but to also stimulate you to use your resourcefulness and creativity. This is usually the way you discover a part of you that you never you had.

Sometimes the only way to know how far you can go is to go too far.

Here is an extraordinary example of a man who chooses to view his “problems” as gifts, and a resource to show the world that there are no limitations to what we can do.

I hope you will be inspired.

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Make Money When You Overcome Fear of Rejection

Written by Monikah Ogando on August 20, 2009
Are you making the income you could be making in your business? Most entrepreneurs are talented, enthusiastic, and committed to their profession, but when it comes to marketing, they have little results to show.

I haven’t done a scientific study of this, but when interviewing new clients I’ve observed that their marketing ineffectiveness is almost always tied to this very common fear. Here are a few of the things I’ve heard over the past several years:

  • I don’t want to come off as pushy
  • Nobody is interested in hearing about my services
  • Word-of-mouth is the only way to get more clients
  • If I ask for referrals it will feel like I’m begging
  • Marketing is a bother and an interruption to people
  • People won’t want to listen to a talk I give
  • No one will read what I write, so why bother?

If you could surmount this one obstacle, you’d attract more clients, earn more money and make the difference you’ve always wanted to make. In this two part article, I will give you ways to overcome this fear of rejection and become a master of your marketing.

In my work with clients over many years, I’ve discovered two effective approaches to overcoming the fear of rejection. They work especially well if you use them in tandem. They are “Talk the Walk,” and “Shift the Story.” Below I will share the essence of these approaches and how you can start to apply them immediately to overcome your fear of rejection.

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My daughter’s TOP 5 Success Lessons

Written by Monikah Ogando on August 10, 2009

Sarah and Monikah

My daughter has chosen to stay home from summer camp this summer, and instead, spend her days by my side as my “assistant”/”apprentice”. So for the past several weeks, Sarah has been by my side, peering over my shoulder as I take business lunches and dinners (she files the receipts), learning Quickbooks and internet research, being my little VA :) So today, I wanted her to start off the week in reflection. I asked her to write an essay about the top 5 things she has learned this summer by hanging out with me.

This is her actual essay. And here are my thoughts on her 5 success secrets:

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Monikah’s Reading and Movie List

Written by Monikah Ogando on April 12, 2009

Here are a few of the books and movies that I’ve read and seen and are part of a “reading homework” list for my private coaching clients:

Favorite Books:
“The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho
“A Manual for Living” by Epictetus
“Meditations of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus” by Marcus Aurelius Antonius
“Hope for the Flowers” by Trina Paulus
“The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin” by Benjamin Franklin
“The Magic of Thinking Big” by David Schwartz
“Tuesdays with Morrie” by Mitch Albom
“Synchronicity: The Inner Path of Leadership” by Joseph Jaworsky
“The Message of a Master” by John McDonald
“Often Wrong, Never in Doubt: Unleash the Business Rebel Within” by Donny Deutsch
“iCon Steve Jobs: The Greatest Second Act in the History of Business” by Jeffrey S. Young and William L. Simon
“Thinking Body, Dancing Mind” by Jerry Lynch
“The Power of Optimism” by Alan Loy McGinnis
“Take Your Time” by Eknath Easwaran
“The Go-Better” by Peter B. Kyne
“The Art of Happiness” by Howard Cutler
“The Art of Worldly Wisdom” by Baltasar Gracian
“University of Success” by Og Mandino
“Small Graces” by Kent Nerburn
“The Four Agreements” by Don Miguel Ruiz
“The Magic of Believing” by Claude Bristol
“Walden” by Henry David Thoreau

Favorite Movies:
The Matrix
Million Dollar Baby
Braveheart
The Shawshank Redemption
Wall Street
Scarface
Scent of a Woman
Gladiator
Life Is Beautiful
Dead Poets Society

Do you have favorite books and movies you always recommend to people? Leave me a comment and let me know.